Snapchat The Best Social Media for Your Kids

06 November 2015

Snapchat The Best Social Media for Your Kids

The New York Times revealed the virtues of Snapchat as one of the safest platform to let your children use.100 million people use the app daily and the most of these people are teenagers and millennials. A staggering 52% of Irish teenagers use the app daily. In the US only 38% of teens use the app.As a parent, what do you need to know? The App has more positive features for young g people than alternatives like Facebook or Instagram, so get to know the benefits of Snapchat over other social media sites.

1.Real

Firstly, Snapchat is considered more real. It is about capturing the moment. The app is based on quick rough and ready images or videos. It encourages you to react as events happen. Instagram, in comparison, is about having a carefully preened and curated life. Snapchat works on being real not filtered version of reality. For teens this creates a positive behaviour in not spending hours crafting the ‘perfect’ image.

2.Transient

Snaps are transient. They live for a short period of time and then are replaced by the next image. So a photos can’t hang in a gallery for people to gawk at, make fun of or comment on. The shelf life of a snap expires quickly, 24 hours to be and so are easily forgotten. This work well for teens who might ruminate of a picture on social media and wonder what people think of it, and by proxy them.

3.Creative

The option to add text, free style with a pen or play with funny filters promotes a silliness that is great for reactivity, identity and playing with words. You can be funny on snap chat and practise this humour without as much judgment as other platforms. Twitter and Facebook deafening silence after a bad joke, meme or quip.

4.Mental Health

The New York times suggest that because friendship visibility is not a feature of Snapchat that is promotes healthier mental health. Snapchat doesn’t have some of the features that cause insecurity – like open numerical count on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. The app according to a study conducted by the University of Michigan leaves users with positive mood after using it as opposed to anxiety that is associated with other social media apps.

5.No Likes Needed

The app doesn’t have like features like its counter parts. You look and move on. This is great for teens as it means they are not getting hung up on how many likes they are getting or not getting. There is no system for validation- you can’t comment or share the snap. You did, people watch and life moves on. Clean and simple.